True lateral body positioning arrangement for radiography

ABSTRACT

A body and support arrangement is provided for adjusting and supporting a patient lying laterally recumbent upon flat examination tables where the body members must be maintained immobile and aligned as nearly as possible parallel with respect to the top of the table and positioned as if in a lateral, vertical stance. A plurality of positioner blocks are provided having body member accepting notches or bridges and surfaces for holding the ankles and knees, and supporting the abdomen and pelvis in a true lateral position.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Edmond J. Lynch 1511 Midvale Ave.,Catonsville, Md. 21228 [21 Appl. No. 853,396 [22] Filed Aug. 27, 1969[45] Patented Sept. 14, 1971 [54] TRUE LATERAL BODY POSITIONINGARRANGEMENT FOR RADIOGRAPI-IY 2 Claims, 6 Drawlng Figs.

[52] U.S.Cl 5/327,

. 5/338, {51] Int. Cl A47c 21 /00 A47g/9/00 [50] Field olSearch 5/327,338 i [5 6] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2, 29 5,906 9/1942Lacour H 5/338 2,782,427 2/1957 Ericson 5/338 3,333,286 8/1967 Biolik5/327 3,345,656 10/1967 Steinman..... 5/327 3,481,593 12/1969 Allen etal. 5/327 X Primary ExaminerPaul R. Gilliam Attorney-Walter G. FinchABSTRACT: A body and support arrangement is provided for adjusting andsupporting a patient lying laterally recumbent upon flat examinationtables where the body members must be maintained immobile and aligned asnearly as possible parallel with respect to the top of the table andpositioned as if in a lateral, vertical stance. A plurality ofpositioner blocks are provided having body member accepting notches orbridges and surfaces for holding the ankles and knees, and supportingthe abdomen and pelvis in a true lateral position.

PATENIEU SEP 1 4 l97| EDMOND J. LYNCH INVENTOR TRUE LATERAL BODYPOSITIONING ARRANGEMENT FOR RADIOGRAPHY This invention relates generallyto diagnostic examining tables, and more particularly it pertains tobody positioner accessories.

Diagnostic X-ray examinations on a laterally recumbent body aresometimes misleading because the body organs and members are under adifferent gravitational vector and do not lie in a true lateral plane inrespect to the top surface of the table. As in the case of radiology,much time has been lost from repeat examinations because of movement andmalalignment of the patient during radiography. Various cushions,sponges, sandbags, folded sheets, and pillows have been employed forpositioning and immobilizing the patient; but results from such practiceoften are not satisfactory and above all, are not reproducible and soare misleading.

It is an object of this invention to provide a simple combination ofadjustable and functional shapes in body support blocks that can be usedon various types of transverse pelvic widths by simply adjusting theposition of the blocks to obtain a true lateral position of the bodyduring diagnostic X-ray examinations.

Other objects and attendant advantages of this invention will becomemore readily apparent and understood from the following detailedspecification and single sheet of drawings in which:

FIG. 1 represents a patient reclining in a true lateral-recumbentposition with the novel blocks of this invention immobilizing,adjusting, and positioning the body in a true lateral position;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary view similar to FIG. 1 showing another blockespecially designed for positioning the abdomen of the patient;

FIG. 3 is a perspective depiction of a crest positioner;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a knee positioner;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an ankle positioner; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an abdomen positioner.

The positioner blocks of this invention are made of X-ray permeable andsemiradiolucent material, preferably of stiff, semiyielding materialsuch as Styrofoam, Styrene, or Ethafoam. A set of four uniquely shapedblocks will suffice for all holding requirements as will be described.

A crest positioner 10 is shown in FIG. 3 and is constructed from acylindrical piece of Styrofoam, and then fabricating surface 12 toresemble a cone with a sloping, inclined-round surface.

A knee positioner 14 shown in FIG. 4 is constructed from rectangularblock by cutting away oppositely facing arcuate portions to provide anupper notch 16 and lower notch 18, having an intermediate bridge portion20 of relatively narrow dimension.

The ankle positioner 22 shown in FIG. 5 is similar to the kneepositioner 14, but having narrower upper and lower notches 24 and 26,respectively, proximate a somewhat wider bridge portion 28 thataccommodates the greater space between the ankles of a patient.

FIG. 6 illustrates an abdomen positioner 30 which is wedgeshaped bycutting a rectangular block diagonally to provide a sloping, flatsurface 32.

In use, the patient is placed in the lateral-recumbent position. Theknee positioning block 14 is placed between the knees of the patient asshown in FIG. 1. This, it will be noted, will superimpose both knees inthe opposed notches 16 and 18, previously described in connection withFIG. 4.

Next, the ankle positioning block 22 is placed between the ankles of thepatient and similarly it will be noted how readily and comfortably theankles are superimposed, one above the other, without the discomfort ofcontacting ankle bones.

The crest positioner 10 is placed and adjusted under the patient at thetop of the crest of the ilium, with the sloping, inclined-round surface12 toward the patient. This surface 12 adjusts and places the lumbar andthoracic spines horizontally colinear.

The abdomen positioner 30 is used mainly for lateral pelvimetryradiography. As shown in FIG. 2, this positioner 30 is placed under theanterior portion of the abdomen and prevents the patient from rollingforwardly, and thus maintains a true lateral position of the body.

Obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention arepossible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore, to beunderstood that within the scope of the appended claims the inventionmay be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

I claim:

1. A true lateral-recumbent-positioning arrangement for radiography of apatient, comprising, four spaced positioner blocks formed of X-raypermeable and semiradiolucent stiff, semiyielding material for adjustingand holding the ankles and knees and for adjusting and supporting theabdomen, lumbar and thoracic spines and pelvis of a patient horizontallycolinear with respect to the top surface of an X-ray examination table,said positioner blocks consisting of a crest positioner block, anabdomen positioner block, a knee positioner block, and an anklepositioner block, said crest positioner block consisting of a segment ofa cylinder having an inclinedround surface for placing under andadjusting and supporting the lumbar and thoracic spines and pelvis ofsaid patient colinearally with respect to said top surface of said X-rayexamination table, said abdomen positioner block consisting of a wedgeof triangular cross section having a sloping flat surface for adjustingand supporting the anterior portion of said abdomen of said patient andfor preventing said patient from rolling forwardly and for maintaining atrue lateral-recumbent position of said patient, said knee positionerblock having oppositely facing arcuate portions providing an upper notchand a lower notch and having an intermediate bridge portion ofrelatively narrow dimension between said notches for adjusting andsupporting the knees of said patient, with said knees being superimposedand aligned in a true lateral position, and said ankle positioner blockhaving oppositely facing arcuate portions providing narrower upper andlower notches and having a wider bridge portion which accommodates thegreater space between the ankles of said patient, with said ankles beingsuperimposed, one above the other, without discomfort of contacting theankle bones of said patient, whereby said ankles, knees, abdomen, lumbarand thoracic spines and pelvis of said patient can be positionedhorizontally colinear in respect to said top surface of said X-rayexamination table for radiography of said patient.

2. A true laterial-recumbent-positioning arrangement as recited in claim1, wherein each said positioner block is formed of a stiff, semiyieldingmaterial of the class of Styrofoam, Styrene, and Ethafoam.

522 3 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No.3,604,923 Dated September 14 L 1971 Inventor-(s) Dillon W. Moffatt It iscertified that error appears in the above-identified patent and thatsaid Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 1, line 55, "he" should be the--.

Column 2, line 51, "0" should be -of-.

Column 3, line 6, "he" should, be -the--.

Column 4, line 38, "5" should be -l- Column 4, line 63, "is" should be--in-.

Signed and sealed this 7th day of March 1972.

(REAL) Attest:

T-IPWMZFI IMF? FTCHERJR ROBERT GOTTSCHALK Ant-eating OfficerCommissioner of P'1tents

1. A true lateral-recumbent-positioning arrangement for radiography of apatient, comprising, four spaced positioner blocks formed of X-raypermeable and semiradiolucent stiff, semiyielding material for adjustingand holding the ankles and knees and for adjusting and supporting theabdomen, lumbar and thoracic spines and pelvis of a patient horizontallycolinear with respect to the top surface of an X-ray examination table,said positioner blocks consisting of a crest positioner block, anabdomen positioner block, a knee positioner block, and an anklepositioner block, said crest positioner block consisting of a segment ofa cylinder having an inclined-round surface for placing under andadjusting and supporting the lumbar and thoracic spines and pelvis ofsaid patient colinearally with respect to said top surface of said X-rayexamination table, said abdomen positioner block consisting of a wedgeof triangular cross section having a sloping flat surface for adjustingand supporting the anterior portion of said abdomen of said patient andfor preventing said patient from rolling forwardly and for maintaining atrue lateral-recumbent position of said patient, said knee positionerblock having oppositely facing arcuate portions providing an upper notchand a lower notch and having an intermediate bridge portion ofrelatively narrow dimension between said notches for adjusting andsupporting the knees of said patient, with said knees being superimposedand aligned in a true lateral position, and said ankle positioner blockhaving oppositely facing arcuate portions providing narrower upper andlower notches and having a wider bridge portion which accommodates thegreater space between the ankles of said patient, with said ankles beingsuperimposed, one above the other, without discomfort of contacting theankle bones of said patient, whereby said ankles, knees, abdomen, lumbarand thoracic spines and pelvis of said patient can be positionedhorizontally colinear in respect to said top surface of said X-rayexamination table for radiography of said patient.
 2. A truelaterial-recumbent-positioning arrangement as recited in claim 1,wherein each said positioner block is formed of a stiff, semiyieldingmaterial of the class of Styrofoam, Styrene, and Ethafoam.